framed

We are slowly working on creating a photo wall in our hallway and I recently felt inspired to try building one in the stairway leading down to our basement.  Photo walls that look like this make me sad:

which is why I feel like I need to devise a plan of attack for my new frame wall location.

Here are some looks I really love:

In my opinion, Young House Love can do no wrong when it comes to decorating and I love the mix of different memories that they highlight on their frame wall.

I really like the clean look of this photo wall and think it would be great in a dining room or a home office.
Here is a look at our current hallway frame wall, where we tried to hide our thermostat in the mix of frames.

These frames were given to me as a shower gift by my best friend and maid of honor and we just love them!

Do you have a frame wall in your house? Where is it located? Did you slowly add to it or gather everything and then display it?

oreo-stuffed goodness

I have always loved the recipes featured on Picky Palate, and when I recently discovered her recipe for oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies, I knew we had a winner! I whipped it up last weekend and it was a hit!

I started by getting all of the ingredients out and ready:

Next it was time to combine all the wet ingredients in the mixer:

Then I mixed all of the dry ingredients separately before slowly adding them to the wet ingredients:

The dough was very thick, but it made it easier to work with when forming it around the double-stuffed oreos!

To assemble the cookies, I first scooped balls of the cookie dough and then flattened the bottom to create a base to place the oreo on:

Next, I placed the oreo cookie on top of the chocolate chip cookie dough:

Then I covered the oreos with the remaining cookie dough:

These cookies were big and I was only able to fit about 10 per cookie sheet. I also covered the cookie sheets with parchment paper to make them easy to remove after they baked.

You can see how big they got in the oven as they baked:

After the cookies were done, I placed them on a cooling rack so they could cool:

Once they had cooled, I brought one down to my official taste tester:

Nick loved them, but they are definitely a decadent treat. You will need a full glass of milk and they are big enough to share! I brought the leftovers into the office because they were too dangerous to leave in the house!

Have you ever made a dessert combining two of your favorite treats?

colorful cupcakes

I have been looking for inspiration for my next baking project and I think the time has come to try to improve my decorating skills. Here are some of the cupcakes that caught my eye while searching:

Here are where you can find the recipes and details on all the sweet cupcakes above:

1.  Chalk & Talk

2.  We Heart It

3.  Oh, Hello Friend

4.  Cake Journal

5.  Mum’s the Word

Have you tried any similar cupcake decorations before? Do these looks intimidate you like they do me? ;)

 

storage saves space

If your home is anything like ours, a 3 bedroom ranch, chances are you have a small bathroom. I am always looking for new ways to create storage without cluttering the space.  Here are some storage solutions that won’t affect your space:

Do you have a small bathroom like us? What have you done to create more storage?

mosaic magic

What a difference mosaic tile makes! Check out the latest transformation in the Grove Pointe kitchen:

Our mission began with a trip to Home Depot to scope out our tile options. I brought an extra tile from the first portion of the backsplash that we completed last week, and a sample of our new Formica that is on the counters.

We had planned on spending around 10 dollars per tile and needed 14 to complete the area above and around our sink. We started to look at the different choices, and Nick (per usual) spotted a deal!

At $4.99 a tile, Majestic Ocean was our choice! And it helped us save half our budget! Nick grabbed the tiles and we were quick to check out and head home to get started.

We were able to use the same grout we used on the other portion of the backsplash so we got to it and started sticking up the new tiles.

Goodbye gross brown uncovered walls and hello pretty new tile! The sink was in the perfect spot to hold the grout.

Nick finished putting up the rest of the tiles and then stood back to bask in the new look!

Then we used trim like we used in our bedroom makeover to trim out the rest of the edges surrounding the cabinets. We still need to caulk the trim but I think it looks great and is such an improvement from before!

Here you can see the trim under the cabinets by the other backsplash. I am so happy with the progress we have been making in the kitchen and even happier that it hasn’t cost us a fortune!

Next kitchen project will be removing the linoleum floor and putting in a new tile floor.  Any projects taking place in your kitchen currently?

fabulous fabric

I have been thinking about how we will decorate our home office after we decide on a paint color and I have really been interested in fabric wall art. I really loved what Kristy at bliss. did with her latest fabric project and it got me to research some options.

Here are some inspiring looks:

All of these looks used different ways to layer new fabrics and patterns into many spaces. Have you ever tried fabric wall art? Is there a spot in your home where this would work well?
(Now I need to start the hunt for a perfect nautical fabric for our office!)

lovely lemon

Over the weekend I was looking for something different to bake and came across a recipe that sounded perfect.

These lemon brownies were definitely a hit, Nick loved them! Here is how I made them:

One thing that was nice, is that I had all the necessary ingredients already in the kitchen.

I cut one stick of unsalted butter into small slices to help bring it to room temperature quickly. Then I added it to the sugar, flour, and salt and begin to mix.

I whisked the lemon juice and eggs together and then added them to the mixer. I mixed for about two minutes until everything was combined nicely.

In the mean time, I worked on the icing which was just a mix of powdered sugar and lemon juice. I opted to use bottled lemon juice since I did not have fresh lemons on hand.

Now back to the brownie mix… Once it was combined I spread it evenly into a non-stick baking pan (The recipe called for a square pan but I went for an 8×8 circle since I didn’t have the other size.).

I then baked the brownies and let them cool. After I placed them on the other side of the pan to make it easier to ice and added the icing. Then it was into the fridge to cool and set the lemon icing.

Once the brownies had completely cooled, I cut them into small bite-sized squares. They turned out great and will definitely be added to our recipe book!

Did you bake something new recently? What was it?